If Anyone - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus… Romans 8:1

Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. John 3:18

This devotional blog and podcast is called Who I Am in Christ. And in it I make claims about the Children of God, about Christians. 

But not everyone is in Christ. Not everyone enjoys these benefits.

Many are lost. 

That then begs the question: “What does it take to be in Christ?” 

It must be hard right?

Yes, it’s so hard that you can’t do it. 

But the good news is that the work has already been done. Somebody already did the work. 

That’s right. Jesus knew that human beings were a mess, so He made a way for us to be with Him, in Him, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and to join the victorious in the war over death and sin. 

And what does it take?

Belief.

Believe Jesus for who He says He is, for who the bible says He is: savior and lord. 

Adam, the first human being was born sinless. He and Eve fell from grace by disobeying God. 

Jesus, the eternal son of God, stepped into a human body, lived a righteous life, and was crucified in a brutal execution. He was innocent. But His life, His work, threatened the leadership of the day. 

He nailed every believer’s sins to the cross. 

And on the third day, He rose again in glory and power, beating Satan and death. 

Then, after forty days of appearing to people, he ascended to heaven to be at the right hand of God the Father. 

He is often called Lord. The idea is that we both believe and we obey. 

Belief is usually the easy part. We proclaim that Jesus, God’s son, died for my sins and rose from the dead. 

Obedience requires a lifetime of sanctification. Sanctification is that scrubbing work that the Holy Spirit does to clean me up. This obedience doesn’t save me, it marks me. 

Believers are marked by certain kinds of activities. They go to church. They read the scripture. They learn how to hear His voice and respond to conviction. They are empowered to obey.

And believers grow in the fruit of the Spirit. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness...

And all of that obedience is in the context of a prayerful relationship with Him. As we get to know Him, we learn how much He loves us, and our love for Him grows. 

We can’t work our way, or obey our way into His good graces. 

He already died for my sins. But I still sin, and He works them them out of me like a masseuse works a knot out of a muscle. It’s painful, but it’s healing. 

To be a new creation, one must be in Christ. 

This is for believers. Even the ones with messy lives who struggle to live for Him. 

And it is for these believers that there is no condemnation. It’s not for the unbeliever. 

The last verse says that the one who does not believe is condemned. 

When I believed. He applied His resurrection power to my dead sinful life. One day, He will bring me home to live with Him. 

I am a full Christian; Today, I want to live fully in that resurrection life. No fear. Just power, love, and wisdom from the Holy Spirit.

Lord, continue your sanctifying work in my life. I know that you are Lord. I am not God. I surrender to you. You are doing a work in my life. Today. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.